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I’ll say it again: House Bill 2, signed into law by the governor, allows a Mississippian, with or without a permit, to strap on a pistol and stroll about in public.

That fact appears to now be dawning on some folks, including law enforcement and even some lawmakers who passed the bill, which becomes law July 1.

The new law defines concealed carry, saying a gun doesn’t have to be fully concealed as long as it’s in a proper holster. But it also states that openly carrying is allowed. A permit is required only for concealed carry, which no longer has to be very concealed.

Regular Member

I think it's pretty clear that open carry will no longer be impossible (it was never technically illegal) after 1 July 13. What I've been wondering about is this: what (if any) places are off-limits for open carry after 1 July?

The columnist at the Clarion-Ledger seems to think so, but as far as I know, all the off-limits places are defined in §45-9-101, which is titled "License to carry stun gun, concealed pistol or revolver." Paragraph (13) starts "No license issued pursuant to this section shall authorize any person to carry a stun gun, concealed pistol or revolver into ...." and proceeds to list the restricted places. OK, so no concealed carry in those places. But since open carry now requires no license, can these restrictions apply to open carriers? I'm thinking the answer is "no," and the police chief quoted in the article seems to think so as well.

Unless any of these restrictions codified somewhere else in the law, it looks to me that open carry would be authorized pretty much anywhere! Do others agree with my interpretation? Does anyone know of any restrictions outside §45-9-101(13)?

Regular Member

Now you won't have to prove that it was OK for you to have an openly carried firearm, they'll have to prove that it wasn't. And that's a tough row to hoe with an actual AFFIRMATIVE statute on the books.

Regular Member

The new law defines concealed carry, saying a gun doesn’t have to be fully concealed as long as it’s in a proper holster. But it also states that openly carrying is allowed. A permit is required only for concealed carry, which no longer has to be very concealed.

The wording has been changed to explicitly allow you to carry a holstered weapon.

(4) For the purposes of this section, "concealed" means hidden or obscured from common observation and shall not include any weapon listed in subsection (1) of this section, including, but not limited to, a loaded or unloaded pistol carried upon the person in a sheath, belt holster or shoulder holster that is wholly or partially visible, or carried upon the person in a scabbard or case for carrying the weapon that is wholly or partially visible.

Regular Member

The wording has been changed to explicitly allow you to carry a holstered weapon.

(4) For the purposes of this section, "concealed" means hidden or obscured from common observation and shall not include any weapon listed in subsection (1) of this section, including, but not limited to, a loaded or unloaded pistol carried upon the person in a sheath, belt holster or shoulder holster that is wholly or partially visible, or carried upon the person in a scabbard or case for carrying the weapon that is wholly or partially visible.

Regular Member

As is always the case with the law, any law is open to intreptation by those who read it. That is why there are courts and courts of review and courts of review that review the courts of review all the way up to the US Supreme Court.

Regular Member

As is always the case with the law, any law is open to intreptation by those who read it. That is why there are courts and courts of review and courts of review that review the courts of review all the way up to the US Supreme Court.

I can see that some may want to apply the restrictions in 45-9-101 to open carry, but for this to hold up in a courtroom, the following would nee to happen. The word "concealed" in section 13 would have to be ignored. The fact that the entirety of 45-9-101 is entitled "LICENSE TO CARRY CONCEALED PISTOL OR REVOLVER" would have to be disregarded because open carry is NOT licensed and NOT concealed, AND the state constitution would also need to be ignored. I'm not saying this couldn't happen, but sheeeesh...

Regular Member

I agree that the restrictions on CC would not apply to OC, since OC may not be regulated as such. But it seems to me that if the place were private property they could just tell you that you can't come in wearing the gun, or post a sign. If you come in anyway, at that point you are guilty of trespass.

Same for a public building, except it would need to be a "policy" and a sign posted. Trespass again would be the violation.

Regular Member

Some may put out signs. I doubt very many will do it. OCing has become a bit more common here in La and there has been no rush to put up "gun buster" signs. Our constitution was changed recently, to supposedly better secure our right to keep and bear, and still no adverse reaction from businesses. Quit the contrary in my experience.

As a matte of fact, my last OC experience in Picayune Ms. included a few stops to lumber company, hardware store etc, and a couple of the small business owners expressed their interest and approval of OCing.

Regular Member

I hope I'm reading too much into some of the reports, but does the law really only apply to non-prohibited Mississippians? If so, what defines a Mississippian? Is that a citizen (anyone in the state even for 1 minute), or do they mean resident? This would be the only state I'm aware of that limited "constitutional open carry" only to residents. Please tell me the actual statute is clearer and allows open carry to non-prohibited citizens...

Regular Member

I hope I'm reading too much into some of the reports, but does the law really only apply to non-prohibited Mississippians? If so, what defines a Mississippian? Is that a citizen (anyone in the state even for 1 minute), or do they mean resident? This would be the only state I'm aware of that limited "constitutional open carry" only to residents. Please tell me the actual statute is clearer and allows open carry to non-prohibited citizens...

Regular Member

I hope I'm reading too much into some of the reports, but does the law really only apply to non-prohibited Mississippians? If so, what defines a Mississippian? Is that a citizen (anyone in the state even for 1 minute), or do they mean resident? This would be the only state I'm aware of that limited "constitutional open carry" only to residents. Please tell me the actual statute is clearer and allows open carry to non-prohibited citizens...

The right of every citizen to keep and bear arms in defense of his home, person, or property, or in aid of the civil power when thereto legally summoned, shall not be called in question, but the Legislature may regulate or forbid carrying concealed weapons.

Regular Member

I can see that some may want to apply the restrictions in 45-9-101 to open carry, but for this to hold up in a courtroom, the following would nee to happen. The word "concealed" in section 13 would have to be ignored. The fact that the entirety of 45-9-101 is entitled "LICENSE TO CARRY CONCEALED PISTOL OR REVOLVER" would have to be disregarded because open carry is NOT licensed and NOT concealed, AND the state constitution would also need to be ignored. I'm not saying this couldn't happen, but sheeeesh...

Thanks for the welcome! The confusion about "concealed" carry was due to that State Supreme Court decision, often referenced, which defined "concealed" as any part of a gun hidden from view-- as laying on a car seat---the part touching the car seat was "concealed" from view or the part being held in a hand was "concealed" from view, and, therefore, there was no such thing as an "unconcealed" gun, and, therefore, no such thing as "open" carry for when any part of a gun was "concealed," the gun was prohibited.

Idiotic? Yes, I agree that it was an idiotic interpretation, but that was the interpretation for many, many years. Not now!

I was referring to the article from the Clarion-Ledger that the OP snipped: "I’ll say it again: House Bill 2, signed into law by the governor, allows a Mississippian, with or without a permit, to strap on a pistol and stroll about in public."

Regular Member

i was down in southaven this weekend and there were four cops at the gas station so i asked them about it. They got all perturbed and said "the only reason anyone would OC is to intimidate and scare people" i wasnt trying to be a smart ass but i said, well TN is OC and they dont have any issues... they kept repeating to me that i couldnt OC in places that were posted to which i responded, yeah that would be the same as CC law. anyway, they were very unhappy about it an said OC is only legal in a few states (weird, TN is like 5 miles away and it's OC and the world doesnt come crashing down)

also they said the legislators didnt know what they had passed (huh) and they were working on new legislation to undo it.

I sure hope they are stopped from that. I plan on coming back down to Vicksburg next summer and I was planning on OCing everywhere. I was stationed there for years when I was in the Army. I concealed when I was there and I am very happy OC is "legal" there now.

Regular Member

I was referring to the article from the Clarion-Ledger that the OP snipped: "I’ll say it again: House Bill 2, signed into law by the governor, allows a Mississippian, with or without a permit, to strap on a pistol and stroll about in public."

Yeah, HB2 only dealt with concealed carry. It is true that you must be a resident of Mississippi in order to obtain a Mississippi Firearms Permit, but there are no regulations for open carry, and the Mississippi Constitution states, "The right of every citizen to keep and bear arms..."

It doesn't say "citizen of Mississippi", so I would take that to mean that even if you are a citizen of New York or Illinois, you would still have that right in Mississippi.